Continentale Campus, Dortmund

New building completed, creating a new home for 1,900 employees: Drees & Sommer was a strong partner for the Continentale Insurance Group.

Client

Continentale Versicherungsverbund, Dortmund

LOCATION

Dortmund, Germany

SERVICE PERIOD

Mid-2016 – December 2024

OTHER KEY DATA

- Architect: kadawittfeldarchitektur, Aachen
- Area: 50,000 m² (GFA = gross floor area)
- DGNB Gold (goal)

Dr. Gerhard Schmitz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continentale, has a favorite place: the Boulevard. It’s not a wide street, but a bright and open central area. The Boulevard is a central area that connects all three campus buildings. This is where employees can come together for meetings, have lunch, or meet for a coffee in the bistro.

The insurer decided it needed a new building because of rapid growth in recent years that had resulted in employees working at four different offices around Dortmund. The new campus on the eastern outskirts of the city means that Continentale once again has an office complex that can accommodate all staff. And what a future-proof building it is: The new building’s energy concept is based on geothermal technology with the intention of achieving DGNB Gold sustainability certification.

A seamless BIM model from planning through to operation

Drees & Sommer provided the customer with comprehensive support throughout the project. First, the team undertook a feasibility study. Then, over the course of the project, the team established itself as an expert partner and first point of contact for the client. Using BIM (Building Information Modeling) management, Drees & Sommer ensured continuity, with all parties involved working with one model: from planning and execution through to operation. The result is a future-oriented campus that is at least as impressive in reality as it was as a digital model.

ADDED VALUE

Future-proof campus implemented on schedule, within budget and to the specified quality
End-to-end data transparency and quality through the use of BIM (Building Information Modeling) – from planning and construction through to operation
Close user involvement in planning

SERVICES

Feasibility study
BSE (building services engineering) requirements planning
Project management
Project Communication System (PCS)
BIM management
BSE specialist planning, and energy concept and design
General contractor controlling (cost group 400 = technical systems)
Facade planning
Office space, furnishing and relocation planning
DGNB certification and subsidy consulting
C2C

“As an insurer, we don’t build every day. So for a project like ours, we needed a strong partner who was prepared to take responsibility – and we found just such a partner in Drees & Sommer!”

Dr. Gerhard Schmitz, Chairman of the Executive Board, Continentale Insurance Group

“Team and technology: For me, those were the two success factors of the project!”

Christian Fürwentsches, project director for Drees & Sommer

‘The making of the new building’ video: See how the Continentale Campus in Dortmund was created – from BIM model to reality. Continentale Chairman Dr. Gerhard Schmitz and project director Christian Fürwentsches give their impressions of work on the major project.

1,900 employees can be accommodated on the Continentale campus

90 geothermal probes

360,051 components modeled in the BIM model